Press Room

2007 Farm Bill Update

Posted on June 22, 2007

UpdateJuly 18, 2007: Good news! The House Agriculture Committee has removed Section 123 from the most current draft of the 2007 Farm Bill. Thank you for all of your calls, emails and letters to your federal legislators in opposition to Section 123. Please be forewarned, however, that this dangerous language could be re-inserted in later versions of this or other legislation. We will continue to monitor events and alert you should the need arise.

June 22, 2007

A subcommittee in the U.S. House of
Representatives has recently drafted language for the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill
which could effectively block crucial advancements in state and local animal
protection laws.

The purpose of Section 123 of the Farm Bill, as
described by the subcommittee, is to prevent states from prohibiting food
products the USDA has "inspected and passed" or "determined to be of
non-regulated status."*

If enacted, this vague and overreaching language
could trump state efforts to take meaningful stands against animal
cruelty, including such following harmful effects:

Prohibit states from enacting their own more-humane farm animal standards;

Prohibit states from banning the production and sale of products like foie
gras, which is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese massive amounts of food
until their livers become enlarged by disease;

Prohibit states from passing other important safeguards for animals that
fall outside of federal protections.

The State of Michigan Court of Appeals overturned the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, also known as Public Act 281, which would have allowed wolves in Michigan to be hunted if they are ever removed from the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) list. Read More »

Animal protection coalition has submitted a comment today, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sharply criticizing the agency’s “Labeling Guideline on Documentation Needed to Substantiate Animal Raising Claims for Label Submissions." Read More »